Researchers have warned that Rwanda, which is making progress in meeting some targets set out in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), faces extreme poverty and food insecurity.

The revelations made at a recent biannual conference on controlling food security and poverty in the era of climate change in Kigali came hot on the heels of reports that Rwandans, particularly those living in rural areas, still feed poorly and the children are grossly stunted.

This corresponds with figures by the National institute of Statistics of Rwanda, which show that 43 per cent of children in the country are stunted.

According to the Institute’s comprehensive food security, vulnerability and nutrition analysis survey released late last year, one in five Rwandan households (21 per cent) could be considered to be food insecure.

The government has made strides in improving agricultural output through terracing and reclamation of marshland, providing fertiliser and improved seed to farmers, such initiatives coupled with improved rains have relatively reduced food scarcity.

Majority of needy households in rural areas have received dairy cows to reduce malnutrition levels and to provide manure to improve food production.

However, industry experts warn that these efforts may not make a big difference in the near future due to high population growth on limited arable land. Rwanda has the highest population density in Africa and the population is growing at 2.8 per cent.

The population is expected to jump to 26 million in 2050 from the current 12 million, making the country’s future socio-economic development uncertain due to population pressure on land, water, food and energy resources.

Telesphore Ndabamenye, the Deputy Director General for Infrastructure at Rwanda Agriculture Board said Rwanda is a hilly country with about 45 per cent of arable land.

The slopes are between 16 and 40 per cent of the arable land with some slopes exceeding the recommended slopes for cultivation which cause severe soil erosion and decline in yields.

Also, government statistics indicate an acute lack of arable land in some of the districts in the country. For instance; Nyaruguru district in Southern Province, which is 101,027 hectares in size, has only 25, 627 hectares of arable land.

Recent floods which experts attribute to heavy intensity rains left 58 people dead and some 918 hectares of food crops destroyed away. Experts note, Rwanda like most of its neighbours is highly vulnerable to climate change as it is reliant on rain-fed agriculture.

Already, experts at the Rwanda Meteorology Agency are warning that there will be an early set in and early end of the rain season which makes it difficult for farmers to know when to plant.

Irrigation gives farmers more control of the water resource and reduces the vulnerability to changing rainfall patterns but infrastructure for this method of farming is unavailable in the country.

Some presenters at the conference noted that while the government is trying to improve delivery of extension services to farmers, the marketing systems of fertilisers is still not streamlined.

Some researchers questioned veterinary extension services when they revealed in Nyaruguru district alone cattle supplied to needy households totalling to 423 died as soon as they were delivered due to poor cattle keeping practices.

For example, most farmers were feeding less than 40kg per cow of feed and salt supplements, a day and tick control was largely by hand-picking.

Economists told Rwanda Today that government will need to adopt “revolutionary” measures in controlling population and introduce reforms that are durable and consistent if food insecurity is to be addressed. 

They also underscored the need to expand employment opportunities and improvement in off farm activities.

Natural disasters, such as drought, are frequently implicated in food insecurity; however, natural disaster-related food insecurity and famines are exacerbated by food distribution problems.